Read the text and complete the sentences after it with the appropriate options

Scientists say that 93 percent of our communication is nonverbal. The US scientist Ray Birdwhistell began to study body language as far back as in the 1950s. What he did was to film people's conversations, then he played them back in slow motion to examine gestures, expressions and postures. While doing it, he noticed the same movements repeated and realized that the body can talk.

People use their bodies to send messages, for instance, we nod to demonstrate agreement,raise our eyebrows to show surprise and shrug our shoulders to say "I don't know" or "I don't care".

Meanwhile, our body language can tell other people what we feel even if we want to hide our feelings. The way we sit or stand and the face expression reveal far more than words. In fact, you can learn to read other people's minds by picking up the unconscious messages they give you.

Let's look at some hypothetical situations. Imagine that you are asking your teacher for several more days to complete your essay. As you talk, the teacher begins rubbing her ear, which is a signal that she doesn't want to hear what you are saying, so the permission will hardly be given. Children often put their hands over their ears to block out their parents' words which they don't want to hear. People who fold their arms tightly across the chest send the same signal — "I don't want to hear it". We use folded arms as a barrier to protect ourselves when we are nervous or being criticized. So when you are trying to convince your listeners in a discussion and notice that they have folded their arms, it's a sign that it's no use going on — you won't be heard.

People who are lying tend to avoid looking you straight in the eye because they instinctively realize that our eyes reveal our thoughts. Boys usually look at the ground while girls look at the ceiling. Some people blush with embarrassment while lying.

Everyone can learn to use body language to their advantage, it just takes some practice. For example, someone who wants to be popular or make friends with a particular person can be recommended to follow some simple rules. Talking to people, look them in the eye — thus, you can show that you are sincere and honest. When they are talking, and you want to show that you are interested and paying attention, lean slightly forward towards them. Often people take it well when you imitate their gestures, but be careful not to overdo it, otherwise they may think that you are playing a joke on them.

Most of body language is shared by different peoples. Anyhow, there are some cultural differences, that's why certain gestures acceptable in one country may look offensive and send the wrong message in another. It's common knowledge that in Britain people stand further apart from each other when talking than in most other countries. They also do everything they can to avoid touching strangers even in a crowd. In many places putting your feet up in a public place is an absolute taboo while in the US it is fairly acceptable. There are many more examples of this kind, so if you don't want to have communication problems travelling abroad, read up about the peculiarities of their people's body language.

Most of the information coming from one person to another

• is communicated with the help of words.
• reaches the listener through channels other than words.
• reaches the listener due to spoken communication.
• does not reach the listener.

Ray Birdwhistell

• demonstrated his slow-motion films to other scientists.
• formulated some basic laws of body language.
• formulated some useful recommendations.
• was among the pioneers of body language research.

Our body language

• helps us to deceit other people.
• is hidden from other people.
• reveals all our thoughts and feelings.
• may be more outspoken than words.

Folded arms are a sign of

• tension.
• disbelief.
• anger.
• lack of confidence.

Our body language

• has nothing to do with our social image.
• is something we can control for our own purposes.
• is something we are unable to control.
• can help us to play tricks on people.

Knowing the basics of body language

• is a must for everyone.
• may be only important when you are travelling.
• may improve your communication skills.
• is not always an advantage.